Fungi comprise one of the largest and perhaps most diverse kingdoms of eukaryotic life. Taxonomists have already characterized some 70,000 different species and estimate that the entire kingdom may encompass some one and a half million different species. A number of these organisms are a source of food such as mushrooms and some are the source of useful chemicals such as some antibiotics. The primary role of most fungi in the ecosystem is to recycle organic matter and many fungi are involved in the process of decaying plant matter. Unfortunately, a large number of fungi are known to grow at the expense of useful materials and perhaps more importantly commercially important plants that are essential to human survival.
Given their diversity and impact on industries such as agriculture, compounds and methods for controlling fungi receive a lot of attention. Currently, a number of fungicides have been identified and synthesized and are currently used to protect both ornamental plants and food crops from pathogenic fungi. And while many safe and effective fungicides are currently in use, the evolution of pathogenic fungi and the ever increasing pressures to use lower levels of fungicides in part to reduce costs continues to create the need for new fungicides and/or effective means of using existing fungicides. It is one object of this instant disclosure to address this on-going need.